Bonds of Affection

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 65

Psalm 65 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 133

Psalm 133 ESV

A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Sermon

Good morning Church!

I was Glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

This morning, if you have your Bibles, I'd ask that you turn with me to the book of Philippians chapter 1 is where we will be looking at today. An extraordinarily long passage Philippians 1, verses 7 and 8, two whole verses. We're just taking these huge chunks of the book of Philippians as we work through it.

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And before we dive into this passage, I actually want us to start by thinking through, What does it mean? To say we love one another. But when you hear the word love, what do you think of? I had the blessing and privilege yesterday of getting to officiate a wedding, a beautiful wedding Judah and Gideon's wedding.

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And for many of us, when you think of love, we think of a wedding. That's what love is and means. And it's true that it should. Our marriages should have a whole host of love. This is what I preached on yesterday. But it's not just marriages. We should love one another.

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We love our kids. What does it mean to love? And what does love look like? And what we will find out as we go through the book of Philippians is, it means something deeper and richer. Then many of us might think. When Paul is writing to the Philippian Church, a church that he loves He will describe the love that.

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He has the love that they have for one another the love they have for Paul. All in terms of God's love for us because ultimately, as we think through love that is The basic. Undeniable point that we can't miss. Right? The Beatles, very famous band. Everyone's heard of them. They have a song. All you need is love. And that song bothers me because they are right? And yet they are so very wrong. The reason they're right is Love is important and we do all need love. But the reason they're wrong is they don't get the point. That the only way we get love is through God. It's not something. We we sort of motivate and move in ourselves, God loves us. We then reciprocate that love out to the people around us and that then that love. We have becomes the bond that ties us together. The bonds of affection that we have for one another become the source of Christian fellow.

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Ship and we have access to that through The gospel. That's the groundwork to understand what Paul is going to say here. Philippians chapter 1 verses 7 and 8. It is right for me to feel this way about you all Because I hold you in my heart. For you are all partakers with me of Grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel. For God is my witness how I yearn for you with the affection of Christ Jesus. These are the words of the Lord for us this morning. Let's open with the word of prayer.

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Our Holy Father in heaven, We thank you and praise you. For today, another day that you have made, We pray that you would help us Empower us to rejoice and be glad in this. We thank you for the great love by which you have loved us. That while we were dead in sin and trespasses you made us alive together with Christ. That we can Proclaim greater love. Has no one than this than one, who would lay down his life for his friend. And we see in Jesus Christ, Our friend, our brother, our Lord and Savior,

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We thank you for the great love that you have loved us and pray you show us and teach us how we ought to love one another. Empower us to walk in the completed work of Jesus Christ. Our Lord for it's in his name that we pray. The name above all other names Amen. And

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Speaker 2

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amen.

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Speaker 1

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Short sweet, beautiful passage. As all of them will be in the book of Philippians. Spoiler alert, this is a wonderful beautiful letter. And here Paul. He starts by saying it is right for me to feel this way. What way does Paul feel Well the the broad way, what we've been talking about is he loves them. But in particular, let's remember a quick review of last week. It is right for Paul. To be grateful to God. For the fellowship, he has with the Philippian Church verse three. I thank my God and all my remembrance of you.

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It is right, Paul says, for him to be rejoicing in their partnership of the Gospel. He thinks of all the work, they've done all the work he's done and the things they have done together in, proclaiming the hope of Jesus Christ. It's right for him to feel that way. And ultimately the crowning point of last week, verse 6. I am. Sure of this that he who began a good work in, you will bring it about to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for Paul to have confidence in the salvation of the Philippian church.

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It is right for him to hold them, dearly for him to care for them for him to remember them. Fondly and for him to be sure of God's work in their lives. Why? Because he loves them. This is what he will go on to say, It is right for me to feel this way about you. And it's because of the love, he has. And here I want to say the Of his love. He says this. I hold you in my heart. That seems like a really nice thing to say. And it is. And that's the point.

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We could get into and there are some theological points and things that Paul is saying here. But first and foremost, we say this. He cares for them. The place of love is his hearts, not his physical heart. This weirdly shaped organ beating in your chest, but rather the heart as the seat and the place of the affections of the Soul, When Paul says, I hold you in my heart he is saying I hold you in that place most dear and precious to me. Literally it's like with my guts. With the most inward part of my being.

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I love you. And so the place of love when Paul speaks of it here and the place of love we should have for one another is a deep-seated firmly rooted and established love. This isn't some when I think of you, I think. Yeah, I can love them rather. They are near and close to Paul at all times. To say that I hold you in my heart. Is to say something rather deep and profound. They are. To Paul. One of the most important things. In his life. Again, yesterday I got to do a wedding and one of my favorite parts of weddings. Every time I do a wedding, I encourage the couple getting married. If you want to write your own vows, you can do that. But I would still encourage you to say some of the the old-fashioned the traditional vows why.

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The nice way. No, let's say not the nice way because people wrote vows better back then than we do now. Right. You hear modern written vows and sometimes they're cute, but it's like, I promise to watch TV with you and take. Real vows say things like, For richer or poor. In sickness and in health. Till death do us part. What we are saying when, when we say these vows in marriage is money, doesn't matter for rich or poor, we're still together. Our health, what the life that we're living now? It doesn't matter? Sickness Health, it doesn't matter. We have this love for one another. And when Paul says, I hold you in my heart in a lot of ways, he's saying those same sorts of vows

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It's deeper than just this gift. Philippian church, I am grateful for this monetary gift that you gave me. But I don't hold you in my wall that I hold you in my heart Philippian Church. That's why I care about you. The place of love that we should have for one another. No, this is Christian love. We're talking about the love that we have for one another That when we say, they'll know, we are Christians by our love. This is it, it's a deep-seated love where we say no matter what's going on, no matter what's around us? No matter all of those things, right? No matter of the

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Notorious for bickering and fighting and gossiping, no matter what is going on around us. We love one another. That's the point. Because the place of love, I hold you in my heart. And then after saying the deep place of his love, that this comes from something deep and meaningful and profound he will, then give the reasons for that same love.

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I hold you in my heart. Because you have been so nice to me. I hold you in my heart because I just really like you guys. I hold you in my heart because, you know, when we sit and chat, we have a lot in common. No one's actually getting a little closer. I hold you in my heart. For you are all partakers of me. With Grace. The reasons for love. To put it simply.

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The gospel. Why do I love you? Ultimately, because you are my brother or sister in Christ and so we are family United in the body of Christ Inseparable for all time and Eternity, you will be my brother and sister in Christ and so I love you. The same savior who saved you is the same savior who saved me? So, I love you. The same Grace that God gave me, is the same Grace that God showed you. When I say these things, we talked about this last week when I see the grace in your life and I know the grace, in mind, the feeling the emotion, the intention that Wells up in my heart is love. Why do we love one another because Christ? First loved us.

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That's it. It's not because we get along so great. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes the the Believers that God has placed in our lives, are a Thorn In the Flesh. We still love them. Why? Because of the bonds of God, the gospel that tie us together, we may have nothing in common. We have the hope of the gospel.

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When I first became a minister He's a youth, pastor. I loved being a youth, pastor. Because I always felt like, It's still kind of true now.

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Sometimes kind of immature. I related a lot to teenagers. And so I always felt like I fit in. It was okay, it was fun. And for me, it was a little different, right? Because I was never the cool youth pastor. So, I was the kind of nerdy one and so those are the sorts of kids God drew into our youth group. And and that's that's how I Minister. And then the first time I got asked to help teach at a men's conference just going to be franking on us here. I hated it. I am not a men's.

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Camping. Go teach at that sort of thing. Type of guy, I actually have changed in my life. I think I've gotten more there but I'm not a very manly man. Obviously, I I struggled So, how did I get through it? It was this. You only sit around guys, talk about fishing and hunting. I love camping fishing and hunting. I don't do that. What do we have in common? I don't know. So around a group of Engineers talking about all this stuff, Lost on me. What do we talk about? I don't know.

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But I'm sure of this. That I can hold them in my heart.

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Because they are all partakers with me of Grace. Notice Paul talks about this Grace, it is both in the imprisonment and defense and Confirmation in the gospel. And this is what the grace point is about, it's in your bulletin, you can read it. But here's the short short version of that. Paul looks at the gospel and the the what he has to suffer for the gospel, what the gospel takes him through but then what the gospel does in his life. And it's difficult and it's hard. He looks the Philippian church and says, you guys know.

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We've suffered persecution together. We've gone through trials and troubles together, we've done these things. The gospel is what unites us. We may not have much in common. You Philippian church, right? A bunch of Gentiles. For the most part. There weren't enough Jewish people in that City to form a synagogue. And here's Paul. A Jew of Jews. This is sort of when he gives his His resume. This is how he described it, he was in the Sanhedrin trained in the law. Perfect. According to following the law, he would say A Jew of juice. And this Gentile church and yet which church is one of his favorites.

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He loves them. Why? Because of the Gospel, that is the reasons.

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Even when it's difficult and hard and there's trouble and there's trial. When the church again is not going perfectly, they still love one another. Why the gospel ties them together? Which gets us to our final point. We hold each other in our heart. That is the place of love because we are united in the gospel. Where does this love? Come from? What is the source of love? It's Jesus Christ. I hold you in my heart. Why? For you are all partakers with me of Grace. Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel, verse 8.

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For God is my witness.

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Pause when Paul is writing. This is what's beautiful about scripture and what's going on here. He is writing under the inspiration of the Holy God is telling him in some way somehow to write these words. The holy spirit is guiding and directing his hand. And so, when Paul says for God is my witness God, is his witness. This is true. True Beyond any other sort of true thing Paul could say.

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I yearn for you. I love you. My heart aches for you. I care for you.

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The affection of Christ Jesus.

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With the same love. That Christ had. That's the same. Love that Paul has for the Not the same type of love. We have to be careful how we hear this. It's not like oh the same way. It's the same exact love it is the love of Christ Jesus. It is Jesus's, love that. Then flows through Paul out of Paul into the Philippian church this becomes the source of love. This becomes how we love. We? Because Christ, first loved us. We love because Christ is in us, working through us and loving Through. The source of love is Christ Jesus in us period.

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There are 500 different ways that I could try to say this exact same point. The love we have for one another is not our own love. It's Jesus love, loving through us. You do not love each other in your own strength and might praise the Lord for that. We should be grateful, just you all should be grateful that. I don't love you with my love because my love is broken and fickle and not worth very much. But when Christ is loving through me, that is a deep love. It's a sacrificial love, it's a caring love, it's a love. That does not count its own self more important, but it rather is willing to Humble.

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Self. It is a love. That is willing to work. Sacrifice pour out for one another That's love. This is the love. Ultimately that is mirrored. In marriage. The source of our love is Jesus Christ. What does that love look like Ephesians chapter 5? Those of you who are at the wedding yesterday, heard this one. Husbands. Ephesians 5 25, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Sure, he loved the church a lot. And gave himself up for her. The love we should have for one. Another is a love that is willing to sacrifice everything.

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For the sake of the love, we have, this is not. We have such a Twist, we've Twisted this and I think I will blame in some sense, the boogeyman of American Evangelicalism. And this idea of the individualistic we as individuals are so important. When Paul is writing, he's writing to the church and he's writing to all of the church and he's telling them that he loves them with the same love of Jesus Christ by extension. We should love each other with this same love. And it is a love that is willing to sacrifice. This isn't just my wife or my kids like I'll die for my wife and kids you guys, sorry.

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This is a sacrificial love, love your wives. And we should love each other as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. And then Paul continues in Ephesians to talk about how the love that the husband has for the wife helps wash and cleanse and sanctify her And what we need to hear and understand is we as a church, should love each other with a love. That is willing to wash and cleanse and sanctify. This is why we exhort one another. When we see each other living in sin, we say you can't do that. I love you too much to allow you to throw your life away. So I will be honest, if nothing else

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I'll tell you the hard truth. But we just finished Ecclesiastes, we should all be a friend like Solomon, who's willing to say the life you're trying to live is pointless and stupid vanity. So, quit seeking that and seek after the Lord, we should love each other enough to speak this truth because the love that is in us is the love that comes from Christ. Who was willing to show kindness and compassion, and who was willing to be bold and Brutally honest.

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We talk a lot about. We went through Matthew before Ecclesiastes. We saw Jesus. Interacting. With the Pharisees. Pharisees are the bad guys. You don't like the Pharisees.

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Jesus loved them.

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When we read, Jesus, just Matthew 26. And we have the seven woes to the scribes and Pharisees woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you brood of vipers. You whitewash tombs, you clean the outside with care, but the inside is full of death and filth you disgusting Pharisees. Get your act together. Jesus says that. Out of love. Do we love one another enough? To say these sorts of things. Do we hold each other in our hearts such that we care earnestly? Do we see the hope of the Gospel at work in each? Other's lives so much, so that love just Springs forth.

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And do we love each other with the sacrificial, love of Christ, willing to sacrifice for the hope and love that. We have for one another That is the bonds of affection. The Philippian church has for one another and for Paul and that should be what our church looks like to. Let's pray.